Spring-support for saddles



A. JOEL.

SPRING SUPPORT FOR SADDLES.

APPLICATION man nov. a. 1919.

1,358,315. I Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

,UNITED STATES PATENT orrics.

ALFRED JOEL, OF ZURICH, S-"WI'I'ZERLAND.

srmne-surronr non sannnns.

Application filed November 6, 19,19.

i have invented certain new and useful In1- provcments in Spring-Supports for Saddles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to letters or figures of reference thereon, which form a part or" this specification.

The use of one single plate-spring as spring support, especially for cycle saddles is already known. On account. of the tensile strength required, such plate-spring must be as thin as possible so asto be able to resist fractures which easily occur particularly with this kind of plate-spring owing to the great flexure. Therefore, the platespring must be broad in order to have suflicient carrying capacity on the one hand, and to resist a lateral tilting on the other hand. The use of one plate-spring is however so far disadvantageous as the saddle leather is placed very high above the saddlepin,because the plate-spring must be passed above the saddle-pin. Owing to this fact such a saddle is much higher than the usual cycle saddles, and can therefore in many instancesnot be used by short persons.

The application of two such horizontally disposed plate-springs would however permit slight reduction in the total height of the cycle saddle as the saddle pin could project upward between the plate-springs. But this arrangement would cause too large a lateral projection of the spring in front, thus rendering the saddle far too broad in the parts where it should be as narrow as pos sible. Means might be thought of to keep the lateral projection of the springs small in the last mentioned arrangement by applying a narrow platespring and insuring the carrying capacity required, by placing several spring bands underneath each plate-spring. This arrangement however would have, on the one hand, the drawback that these narrow plate-springs might be laterally displaced relatively to each other, particularly if lateral pressures arise, considerably re ducing spring action thereby, and. on the other hand the construction would be rather Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Serial No. 386,205.

complicated and the saddle consequently very much dearer.

The present invention relates to a spring support of the kind specially adapted for use in cycle saddles, the object or" this sup port being to eliminate the i above mentioned disadvantages of the designs in use hitherto. In the spring support constructed according to the invention, the points of attack of the organs which have to take up primarily the weight to be'compensat ed by spring action, are connected oneito the other by a plate-spring arrangement. This arrangement comprises two plate-springs at least, placed abreast, the portions thereof that should act mainly as springs, lying horizontal, and the portions that should serve as carrying support standing edgewisc.

The drawing shows as an example the con struction oifa form of the object of the invention as applied to a cycle saddle provided with a pneumatic cushion device.

Figure 1 is a viewthereof with parts in section and Fig. 2 is a top view, the saddle leather being taken ofi.

1 is the saddle-post, 2 the saddle leather, 3 casing containing an air bag 4, and 5 are piston rods, acting upon the air bag 4 and connected one to the other by a cross rod 6, thus forming on the whole a bowlike body.

7 are two narrow plate-springs. Each of these plate-springs is firmly secured on one of its horizontally disposed ends 8 to the casing by a cross plate 9 riveted to casing 3. Between this end 8 and a saddle clamp 10, disposed in the saddle post 1, the platespring is twisted through 90, part 11 thereoi thus standing edgewise. This part 11 lying between parts of the saddle clamp serves to connect the plate-spring 7 to the saddle-post. Toward the front part of the saddle, plate-spring 7 is again twisted through 90 thus lying fiat once more. Thence the plate-spring, is level for a certain distance and thereupon curved backward in an upward turned bend 12, so as to be level again for a certain distance. In this portion of the plate-spring, a bearing 13 is provided to which the point of the saddle-leather 2 is fixed. Behind the bearing 13, at point i l, the plate-spring 7 is twisted through 180, and lying flat from this twistlng, it is levelagain and runs slightly outward toward the rear. The other end of the plate-spring adjoining this flat portion is curved or curled so as to form an eyelet 15, the axis of which lies in a vertical plane. A cross bar 16 serves as support to the cross rod 6 and is connected to the plate-spring by flaps 17 close to the point where the platespring 7 is curved up to an eyelet 15, said cross-piece 16 being contiguous to the underside of the plate-spring. Arms 18 of the cross-piece 16 are provided with slots 19 lying beneath the eyelets 15 of the two platesprings. The back part of the saddle leather 2 is connected to the upper ends of plate-springs 7 by means of screw-bolts 2O which pass through eyelets 15 and the slots of arms 18. i V

The bearing 13 is formed by a sheet suitably bent, the branches of which, passing between the two plate-springs 7, extend downward and are bent around the platesprings. This bearing 13 is secured against sliding backward on the plate-springs by twist 14; acting as an abutment therefor and serving also to secure plate-springs 7 in their relative positions; 19 is a spacing ele ment connecting the lower portions of the plate springs in their relative positions near the bends 12at the front ends.

One of the advantages of the arrangement described above of the plate-springs consists in the fact that the total height of the saddle can be kept small, as the saddlepost projects upward between the platesprings 7 Further advantages of the new arrangement are that the portions of the plate-springs 7 between the upper ends of said springs and the twists 14: act as slightly elastic struts stiffening the saddle leather within itself, that the bends 12 with the flat parts adjoining them, form a good spring support for the saddle point, that the parts, standing edgewise, secured to the saddle clamp 10 and mainly serving to carry the load, ofler the greatest possible resistance to flexure in the direction of action of the forces to be transmitted, and that the flat lower ends of the plate-springs fixed to casing 3 act again as springs. Thus, the platesprings are so shaped as tortake up in the various parts thereof the positions which are most suitable for the work to be performed in the parts concerned, which enables one to choose small sections for the several platesprings. r

In the spring supports described heretofore no screw or rivet holes are provided in the plate-springs for connecting the latter to the parts fixed thereto, thus the section of the plate-springs is nowhere weakened.

The invention may also be applied to cycle saddles with other forms of shock absorbers instead of air cushion; a spiral spring arrangement, for instance, could be ing plate springs placed abreast, the portions thereof that mainly act in a resilient manner, lying flat and extending beneath the saddle substantially from end to end thereof and the portions of said springs acting as carrying support standing edgewise and extending beneath the aforesaid portions. 7

2. A spring saddle support for cycles, comprising plate-springs placed abreast and each connected at two points with the saddle, the upper parts of said plate-springs being in the main flat between said two pointsat which they are connected to the saddle, members connected to saidupper parts of the plate-springs between said points, a resilient support for said members, and a saddle support with which the plate springs are connected, the continuation of said upper parts, having also a fiat horizontal section, being curved downward and backward; the parts forming the continuation of the bends, and serving to connect the saddle to the saddle post, are placed edgewise, the ends of the plate-springs adjoining the last mentioned parts and con- Eected to the resilient support lying again 3. A spring support for saddles comprising plate springs placed abreast, a portion thereof extending flat wise beneath the saddle, a portion extending beneath the aforesaid portion twisted to lie edgewise and a flat bend connecting the two portions at one end of the saddle, whereby the two portions are connected without diminution of section and said bend forming resilient connections between the two portions.

4. A cycle saddle support comprising flat spring metal bent to form an upper and a lower portion, said upper portion extending beneath and supporting the saddle and being in the main fiat, and said lower portion twisted to lie substantially at right angles to the flat portion and-without subitaltlal downward deflection to support the 5. In a cycle saddle support, a flat spring member bent to form anupper and a lower portion, said upper portion being in the main fiat extending substantially lengthwise directly beneath the saddle and having a twist forming an abutment for a saddle point support and the lower portion twisted to lie substantially edgewise at the point of attachment to the cycle.

6. A cycle saddle support comprising two spaced members, each member constructed of flat spring metaland comprising a flat upper portion whose rear end is bent to form saddle securing means, and at its front end bent to form a lower portion, said lower portion having a part intermediate its ends twisted to lie edgewise for attachment to the saddle post.

7. A cycle saddle support comprising two spaced members, each constructed of flat spring metal and comprising a flat upper portion twisted at its rear end at right angles and curled to form an eye, said upper portion having a twist near its front end to form an abutment, a lower portion connected to the upper portion by a bend and having between its ends a portion twisted to lie edgewise.

8. A cycle saddle support comprising two flat spring metal members each member having a flat upper portion Whose rear endis bent edgewise and curled to form an eye, said upper portion connected by a bend to a lower portion that is twisted between its ends to lie edgewise, yielding means secured to the fiat rear ends of said lower portion, a saddle point support securing the front upper portions of'said members in spaced relation at the front, a cross piece connecting the rear ends of the upper portions of said members and having slotted arms underlying the twisted rear ends of said upper portion and whose slots register with said eyes.

- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name. ALFRED JOEL. 

